Chapter 97
As Sancho headed alone to the capital immediately after arriving at the gate, having only completed a simple reorganization,
"Count Lopez. Most of the mercenary groups have decided to stay."
"...What about the payment?"
"No unit leader mentioned payment separately."
"Hmm..."
Carlos, who had been staying at the gate, ended up taking charge of commanding the defeated troops in his place.
As Carlos was also an experienced commander, though not as much as Sancho, the other nobles and officers at the gate had little complaint about him temporarily handling the chaos.
"What about the enemy?"
"They're still not coming out of Al Berdo Pass."
"Seems they didn't escape unscathed. Keep observing from a distance where the enemy can't counterattack."
"Yes."
He was quickly stabilizing the soldiers who were in chaos due to the aftermath of the defeat while watching the Red Dragon Corps' movements, when.
"A messenger sent from Ordova has arrived."
"Hmm."
A few days later, a messenger who had departed from the royal palace arrived at the Ceres Gate.
"I will read it out."
The messenger read out the decisions made in the conference room where the officers had gathered.
"...Count Sancho Gonzales is confined to his home, held responsible for the defeat in the Battle of Al Berdo Pass, and Count Carlos Lopez is appointed as his successor."
The gist was that Carlos would take over the forces at the Ceres Gate instead, and,
"...The Ceres Gate can be called a strategic point for the defense of the capital, Ordova, and the enemy's momentum is piercing the sky. The successor, Count Carlos Lopez, should minimize unnecessary losses and focus on defense to preserve forces."
"..."
Contrary to the officers, including Sancho, who had advocated for field battles, it directly instructed them to devote themselves solely to defending the fortress.
"That is all. And here is a letter that Duke Francisco Casas separately ordered to be delivered to Count Lopez."
"Hmm..."
Ignoring the crumpled reactions of the officers, the messenger who had delivered the instructions handed a letter to Carlos.
The messenger left after completing his mission, and Carlos carefully opened the seal and read the contents of the letter.
"..."
The letter contained the content and conclusions of the discussions held by the nobles who had received the results of the Battle of Al Berdo Pass.
"Can you tell us what it says?"
"...I think it's better if you all know too."
Carlos frowned and put the letter down on the desk.
Baron Jon Casamayor, who had asked if the content could be shared, checked the letter along with the surrounding officers.
"...Hah."
"Reckless offensive? Unfavorable terrain? Come on..."
The letter stated that after Sancho's punishment was decided, the nobles claimed that Sancho's attempt at a preemptive strike itself was wrong, and,
"Serona, La Leon fortress, and Ceres Gate are different?"
"...Although I haven't seen the power of siege cannons myself, these people seem to be underestimating their power too much."
It included the argument that they should now devote themselves to defense using the walls,
It also included the reasoning that the Ceres Gate had higher defensive capabilities compared to the forward fortresses.
"So, in the end, they're telling us to hole up inside the gate?"
"That seems to be what the nobles in the royal palace think."
"They seem to think they're smarter than His Excellency Gonzales."
"This is why nobles who don't know the battlefield... They want us to stop an enemy that can destroy walls in a few hours from atop those walls?"
As almost everyone who had come out to the Ceres Gate had experienced the battlefield, they freely badmouthed the royal palace nobles enjoying peace in the rear.
However,
"It's not entirely unreasonable."
"Count Lopez...?"
Carlos, who had been listening to their complaints, suddenly stepped forward, speaking as if defending the contents of the letter.
As Carlos usually showed respect towards Sancho, the officers were surprised by his behavior.
"His Excellency Gonzales decided to engage in field battle, thinking that the Red Dragon Corps, which mainly uses guns as long-range weapons and had never been to this area before, wouldn't be able to utilize the terrain well. The result... I won't mention it unnecessarily."
"..."
"I'm not trying to say that His Excellency Gonzales' abilities were lacking. However, despite deploying nearly 30,000 men on a battlefield that His Excellency thought was advantageous, we couldn't defeat them."
"Count Lopez."
"I want to choose a safe strategy. As per His Majesty's instructions, we won't leave the Ceres Gate."
He declared that he would follow the king's instructions, and,
"...Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"It's a weapon that literally destroyed fortresses! Even the Ceres Gate will be hard to withstand!"
"We'll reinforce the walls as much as possible before the enemy moves."
"...Continuous raids were certainly effective. Even if we don't engage in field battles, we should at least dispatch a separate detachment..."
"It's a mission that will inevitably result in great sacrifices. With our current lack of troops, it's difficult to dispatch regular soldiers. And if we send mercenaries, we need money to make them trustworthy. Are you willing to spend the money?"
"That's..."
He suppressed the objections of other officers one by one.
"We don't have much time. Since we don't know when the enemy will move, we'll start work immediately."
"...Understood, Your Excellency."
"Yes."
Seeing Carlos's unyielding determination, the officers gave up their objections, and,
"...Was His Excellency Gonzales' defeat that big?"
"He's too scared. I didn't know he was such a coward."
"Maybe self-preservation is more important than anything else..."
"Worrying about factions and politics in this dangerous situation? ...I thought Count Lopez would be different."
They left, disappointed with his decision.
"Reinforce the front of the walls with fences and earth. Properly fill in the cracked areas, and reinforce key points like outposts on top of the walls as well."
"Understood."
"Install fake outposts here. Cover them well with cloth so that they can't be distinguished, at least from a distance."
"Yes!"
However, contrary to their expectations, Carlos, who even mobilized troops to reinforce the walls, had no interest in political reasons at all.
"...Hah."
Carlos was equally displeased with the superiors who had ordered the defense of the fortress.
Although they had suffered a major defeat in the field, he thought that field battles had a greater chance of victory than having all forces holed up in the Ceres Gate.
Yet, he gave up on field battles not only because he lacked confidence to engage in field battles against the Red Dragon Corps that had defeated Sancho in the field, but,
"Well, let's see if we can hold out."
The main reason was to show the nobles whether the Red Dragon Corps was really an enemy that could be stopped by walls.
"They reinforced even the walls with stones, earth, and fences?"
"Yes. It seems they're fully committed to defending the fortress."
"Good. Very good. It will soon become clear that Sancho was making a fuss over nothing."
The nobles who had advocated for defense were satisfied that Carlos was clearly preparing for defense, and expected actual results, but,
"Does this mean we need construction at the level of rebuilding?"
"I'm sorry, but yes."
"...Hmm."
Carlos, having read all the battle reports and talked with the craftsmen, was convinced that these temporary measures could never stop the siege cannons.
"How far have we completed today?"
"About half of the fence installation is done. The bags filled with earth have only been installed in some key points so far."
"Good work. Please work hard tomorrow as well."
"Yes."
Except for the faint hope that they might be able to stop the siege cannons, his goals were twofold.
To clearly imprint on the nobles that this was an enemy against whom fortress defense was impossible, and,
"...His Excellency Gonzales."
As a result, to allow Sancho, who was under disciplinary action, to return as commander and engage in field battles again.
So he diligently reinforced the structure of the walls, but didn't separately train the soldiers or prepare for field battles.
His prediction was that Sancho commanding the troops would have a higher win rate than him diligently commanding, so he intended to do his best to preserve the troops as instructed.
Fortunately for him,
"The Red Dragon Corps has come out of Al Berdo Pass!"
"...It's beginning."
The Red Dragon Corps showed movement more than a week after they started preparing to reinforce the walls.
Mobilizing most of their force of about 10,000 men, the kingdom's army was able to 'visibly' reinforce the exterior of the walls.
"Did you say all the reinforcement work is finished?"
"Yes! We reinforced the exterior with fences and earth mounds, and carried out similar work on top of the walls!"
"Hmm."
Carlos looked around at the officers with strange expressions.
He composed himself with a deep breath, and,
"The enemy will strike with siege cannons from a distance our weapons can't reach, then insert troops through the collapsed gaps to attack. I plan to deploy only a small force on top of the walls, and position the main force behind the walls to attack the approaching enemy."
He began preparing for the 'appropriate defeat' he had in mind.
"I'll take charge of the top of the walls."
"...Won't it be dangerous?"
"We've reinforced these walls for the past week. I'll come down before it gets dangerous, so don't worry."
"...Understood."
The officers, who had been accumulating some dissatisfaction, didn't particularly try to dissuade Carlos from volunteering for the dangerous position.
A few days later, the Red Dragon Corps arrived in front of the Ceres Gate, and…
"..."
Carlos climbed the walls with a small force and watched them.
Cold sweat was dripping from his clenched fists.